South Carolina MBB can’t right the ship on the road against Georgia. 3 observations
The South Carolina men’s basketball team continued its SEC freefall Tuesday night, dropping its eighth-straight game to start conference play with a 71-60 loss on the road to Georgia.
Georgia (15-6, 3-5 SEC) pulled away early and South Carolina never led at Stegeman Coliseum. USC fought back to make it close midway through the period, but UGA outscored the Gamecocks 17-5 in the latter portion of the first half and led 35-21 at the break.
Both teams traded punches in the second half. The Gamecocks forced nine UGA turnovers for 14 points after the break, while the Bulldogs shot 60%. With UGA already in control, the Bulldogs never felt the pressure and coasted to a comfortable win.
The Gamecocks turned the ball over 17 times, which resulted in 10 points off turnovers. They shot 41%, a step up from the 27% in the first half.
“I’d like to live in a world where you could do those things and still have a great chance to win, but that’s not reality,” head coach Lamont Paris said the turnovers.
Senior Jamarii Thomas was the leading scorer for the Gamecocks with 19 points and two steals. Sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles had 18 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
South Carolina (10-11, 0-8 SEC), winless in January, returns to Colonial Life Arena on Saturday to host No. 13 Texas A&M. Here are three observations from the loss to Georgia.
Early sloppiness spells trouble
South Carolina was unable to find any offensive rhythm to start. The Gamecocks turned it over six times in the first six minutes of the game, which led to six Georgia points in the first half.
Turnovers continue to be a problem for USC, which ranks last in the SEC in turnover margin. They turned it over 10 times in the first half and 17 times overall.
“Guys have to step up and play better; that’s the bulk of what our turnovers are,” Paris said.
And when they did manage to get a shot up? It wasn’t pretty. The Gamecocks started just 1 of 6 from the field, while the Bulldogs drilled six of their first nine to build an early lead.
USC briefly showed some fight, stringing together an 8-0 burst with tough and-one finishes from Murray-Boyles and Arden Conyers to claw within three at 16-13. But Georgia responded with a haymaker of its own, stretching the lead to double-digits by halftime.
8-minute lid on the basket
For nearly eight agonizing minutes in the first half, the Gamecocks couldn’t buy a bucket and had eight straight misses. The drought finally ended with a Murray-Boyles layup at the 2:25 mark, but by then Georgia had already used a 15-2 run to extend its lead to 33-18
The Bulldogs weren’t exactly on fire either, going four minutes without a make, but South Carolina failed to capitalize due to its own struggles.
Murray-Boyles muffled early
Murray-Boyles never really found his footing against Georgia. He scored five points in the first half and turned the ball over three times before the break.
Thomas, in his second game back from injury, was the main source of the Gamecocks’ fuel on offense with Murray-Boyles not scoring early at his usual level.
Without their No. 1 option, USC’s offense looked disjointed throughout the evening. And that has been the case often for the Gamecocks, who rank last in the conference in scoring offense.
Murray-Boyles and Thomas both found a groove, combining to score 29 of USC’s 39 second-half points.
Next four games
- Saturday: vs Texas A&M, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 8: at Kentucky, 12 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2)
- Feb. 12: vs Ole Miss, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 15: at Florida, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 9:11 PM.
